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One more week fellow Doctor Fans! And Mr. Terrorist (weird saying that) i will not watch the prequel. I'd hate to spoil an episode or as River Song would say, "SPOILERS!" Anyways, looking forward to seeing the Doctor and Clara Oswin Oswald go at it.

One more week fellow Doctor Fans! And Mr. Terrorist (weird saying that) i will not watch the prequel. I'd hate to spoil an episode or as River Song would say, "SPOILERS!" Anyways, looking forward to seeing the Doctor and Clara Oswin Oswald go at it.

You can watch it since this is nothing more but a mini episode before the actual episode airs. Plus it shows how good Matt Smith is with children.

Very much a transitional episode. I understand that Dr. Who needs to set-up the characters, but this was a little too transitional for me. The villian was too weak, though it's potential connection to an age old enemy is quite exciting, and too much time was spent on pseudo-action scenes that made little sense (yes boarding a crashing plane was fun, but it was a little too unbelievable). Arguably the best moments of the episode were between the Doctor and Clara (which, duh, they were supposed to be), especially early on when Clara used various windows and doors in order to keep distance from the doctor (their conversation as Clara hung her head out a second story window was quite fun). And, while Clara's magical haxx hackery was fun in it's simplicity (there has to be some satire involved here concerning all these "secret" agents routinely posting their secretive work status on Facebook), it was a little too random to really be taken seriously.

Still the basic mystery involved her is quite interesting and I eagerly await what's to come. 75/100.

You had to do that with EVERY new companion. I am more surprised that they rushed through the "bigger on the inside" scene when in the recent past they took their time.

It is interesting to have the world not knowing who the Doctor is again. We have a mortal human woman daring to face him head on, not knowing her foe is someone who regularly commit genocide and blow up planets.

Edit: The prequel trailer for the episode explained why he ended up in a monastery; he decided to "go to a quiet room to have a think about it."

A pretty good set up epi for future events. Was it Moffats best? No but 11 was back and he had some great moments. I loved him getting dressed, getting jammy dodgers for Clara, keeping himself busy as she slept, it was adorable.

Loved the book reference and 11 being the best chapter. It crossed my mind that River might be the one who gave Clara the TARDIS number but Im really hoping it wasnt. I like River with Amy and Rory tho I do know eventually will get her final epi.

Im not loving the GI as a villain, wasnt at all surprised to see Simeon was the boss, hoping that aspect gets better. Still DW is back and Im happy.

p.p.s. Who here is expecting River to be the one who gave Clara the Doctor's number? Here's hoping the show doesn't dip itself back in the Song well too soon.

That was actually the first thing that crossed my mind and, unlike plenty of folks (apparently), I'm ok with that. That particular storyline has been hanging in the background for a while and needs a bit of resolution imho.

Also: was I the only one that was completely cracking up the moment they gave away what "The bells of St. John" were?

What an extravaganza of an episode. Centered around a giant set piece of a god and filled with lots of fun costumes and special effects (some cheesy, some decent), "Rings of Akhaten" was a damn fun episode and a great centerpiece for Clara's introduction to the world of Dr. Who. The episode also contained one of Matt Smith's better performances (his soliloquy as he stares down the parasitic deity), along with a lot of fun little details that will probably only matter later once the mystery of Clara takes center stage. Even if the plot was overly convoluted (purposely I imagine, just for the big reveal of the big bad at the end) and characters seemed to vaporize as soon as they lost relevance, this was still a damn fun episode. 81/100.

That speech was fargan epic! Visually this epi was stunning and 11 was great but I felt the overall epi missed something, not sure what, maybe just tried to cram too much into an hour. But hell Im with james the stare down was awesome!

Great great great episode. Easily one of my favourites from Season 7 (it lacks the emotional weight of the last Pond episodes, but it makes up for it in many slight and endlessly fun ways).

This is a very simple episode. In fact, it is so simple it reminds me of many classic (old) Dr. Who episodes. Trapped in a defenseless location, trying to stave off an invasion, all the while saving the world. But, even if this is a very well worn trope, this episode takes everything to the logical extreme (instead of a castle or home being used to house our heroes as they fight the invasion, we are instead stuck in a submarine at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean) while also providing some damn good character development for Clara and still managing to have a fun time throughout (with some honest to god tension included) and even more has some damn fun side characters. This episode really did have everything, and everything was done just right.

Firstly, the side characters. This week we are treated to two great character actors: Liam Cunningham (best known currently for his role as Davos from Game of Thrones) and the great David Warner (who has been in at least two great time travel films that I know of off the top of my head: he played Lucifer in Time Bandits and Jack the Ripper in Time After Time). Both bring a fine touch to their performance, and are able to stand beside Matt Smith quite well. Whether it be Warner's character the Professor's obsession with (great) 80s new wave music, all the while providing Clara with some amazing emotional support (support she definitely needs that sadly the Doctor is not providing); or Cunningham's turn as a highly competent military officer that, I believe, would have been able to handle this crisis whether the Doctor showed up or not (one of the few individuals in the series that I believe could have actually handled their own end of the world scenario...even if he had to destroy his ship to see that the world is kept safe - “We are expendable, comrades—our world is not.”).

Secondly, Clara is really coming along as her own unique companion. Like many previous companions, she is more than willing to throw herself completely into harms way simply when she volunteers to speak to Skaldak simply because she trusts the Doctor (I couldn't help but notice that while the Doctor begs her not to go, he is still smiling at her, seemingly in approval of her actions, urging her on with his body even as he voices his disapproval). But, unlike many companions, her subsequent failures brings a moment of self-doubt. In the end, she is able to reclaim her own confidence, and help to save the world, but her emotional trek, however brief, greatly added to her character. I especially like how willing she is to obey the Doctor’s instructions. In a delightful little meta joke to the companions of old, when the Doctor tells Clara not to wonder off, to stay put, she agrees immediately (The shock on Smith's face was worth the episode alone). What follows is a very nice scene as Clara converses with the Professor, trying to convince herself that Skaldak's carnage and the possible end of the world is not her fault - that she did not cause this mess.*

And Finally, the Doctor. It's not often the Doctor is actually forced into a corner (literally or figuratively). It only seems to happen during season finales or big emotional episodes. So for the Doctor to attempt a path of mutual self destruction in this episode over one alien with one nuclear device speaks volumes of not only the Doctor, but the tense situation he was in.

All in all, great episode, wonderful direction with fine pacing and some great acting. I haven't been this pleased with a Doctor Who in quite awhile. 90/100.

Some side comments:
-I really love how all of this episode is from the Russians perspective during the Cold War. Cunningham's Captain is painted quite nicely as a man who understands tough decisions, and understands that the world he lives in can end with the stupidest of mistakes.

-Does anyone else think Clara could die (again)? I find the possibility of Clara's death to be immensely appealing, not because I dislike the character (I'm growing to love her quite a bit), but because she is a character that has the potential to actually die - unlike all the other companions (well, not all of them). I can't help but feel the tension surrounding her character is greatly increased due to the sheer possibility that her current iteration could be killed, and a different Clara could come and replace her. This would be great for the actress, allowing her to come up with different personalities for each Clara, and potentially very interesting for her whole mystery. Then again, maybe I'm watching too much Orphan Black...

-Does anyone else want to see Clara and the Doctor hoofing it to the South Pole to get the Tardis? That seems like a fun couple of episodes .